A New Population of the Rare Red Handfish Was Just Discovered

Scientists recently discovered a new population of the rare red handfish.

Conservationists got some good news recently, as scientists have discovered a new population of red handfish. This is one of the rarest fish in the world.

The specimens were discovered by seven divers sent by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. They also came from the Reef Life Survey, a citizen science project.

The Red Handfish, Unexpectedly Rediscovered

One of those involved, Antonia Cooper, says that the team searched for about two hours before finding one. This seemingly happened right as they were about to give up. The team found eight individuals in all but suspects that there might be more.

The new population, discovered off the shores of Tasmania, Australia, could double the number of these creatures. Before this, only one other population was known. Living in the Frederick Henry Bay, this consists of about 20 to 40 specimens.

The red handfish is between two and five inches big. It uses its fins to move around the rocks on the seafloor. These specimens are one of 14 species of handfish living around the Australian island of Tasmania. Several among them are already endangered species.

Because of this, the government has instituted recovery plans for four of them. It also initiated a breeding program for the spotted handfish, which began in September 2017. However, authorities have been unsure of what to do about the rarest fish. Researchers feared that removing a few individuals could damage their small population.

This new discovery changes things, however. Cooper notes that this is especially heartening because the two groups, being weak swimmers, are likely separated from each other enough to be genetically distinct.

This means that the gene pool is now more varied. So this might help decrease the chances of problems if scientists try to breed individuals from the two populations.

She also notes that “there are potentially other populations out there that we’re yet to find, so it’s very exciting indeed.”